LANDOVER, Md. -- If the San Diego Chargers were in the NFC, they would be the team to beat.

"I don't know about that," said coach Marty Schottenheimer.

Well, I do. They're better than Seattle. They're better than Carolina. They're better than Dallas, Chicago and the New York Giants. But because they're in the AFC, they might not make the playoffs, which would be a shame, because this year's Chargers are better than last year's Chargers -- and last year's Chargers won the AFC West.

"I've said that from the outset," Schottenheimer said after San Diego's 23-17 overtime defeat of Washington on Sunday. "I said going into the season that we're better than we were a year ago, but we might not have as good a record because of the schedule we faced. </blockquote>